[Freeciv-Dev] (PR#11805) Store chat and notify messages for later retrieval

["Ed Overton" <edoverton@xxxxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://bugs.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=11805 >

> [jdorje - Wed Jan 05 21:39:47 2005]:

Thanks for the quick feedback.  I'll check out the events specifications
and try to be keep this ticket updated as I make progress.  A couple of
comments:

> ...  The array is cleared at the end of every turn.
> When a player connects they are sent all events in 
> the array.

I believe we're thinking about this from different directions.  I'm
looking at it as an array that's retrievable at any time.  The array
would be capped in size, but would never actually be cleared.  I
envision a "last seen" and "most recent" pointer.  When the user
connects, the server would pass all entries after "last seen" up to
"most recent".

If the array is cleared at the end of each turn, then the disconnected
player (my prime purpose) misses messages.

The array would simply be a record of the last NNN messages, along with
the pointers that indicate what's new for the player.  If the "most
recent" pointer ever circles back around and overtakes the "last seen"
pointer, then a separate flag would be tripped and the "most recent"
pointer would just push the "last seen" pointer as new messages
overwrote old ones.  Once the client connects and starts to receive its
messages, the flag's state would indicate that the client should be
notified that some messages were lost (and the flag gets reset).

> There is no need for the client to request these events I 
> think - it certainly shouldn't come via a chatline request
> but should be a separate packet if it is done.

I don't see that there is a need necessarily, but it would be nice
(again, focusing on disconnected play).  Allowing server commands such
as /messages all is the disconnected play equivalent to scrolling up in
the message log during connected play.  There are times when it's useful
to look back in the message log, and that's what I'm trying to support
with the /messages chatline requests.

Thanks again,
Ed